Category Archives: Podcast

Welcome to the Ada Lovelace Day podcast, highlighting the work of women in STEM. Each month, we talk to women from around the STEM world about their careers, as well as talking to women and men, about historic and modern women’s achievements, discoveries, and inventions.

In this episode

01:23: Structural engineer Roma Agrawal tells us about her work on the iconic Shard skyscraper in London, and the challenges of retrofitting Victorian buildings.

26:15: Biological psychologist Dr Pete Etchells talks about the work of Dr Suzanne Gage, who investigates the relationships between recreational drug use and mental health.

Ada Lovelace Day Live!

ALD Live is an entertaining evening of geekery, comedy and music suitable for everyone over the age of 12. If you’d like to enjoy a taster, take a look at our videos from 2015, 2014 and 2013!

Our interviewees

Roma Agrawal

Roma Agrawal is a structural engineer was part of the team that built The Shard. She was awarded ‘Young Structural Engineer of the Year’ in 2011 by the Institution of Structural Engineers and was a finalist in the IET’s Young Woman Engineer award 2012. Roma works to raise awareness of engineering, correct the preconceptions about the field and inspire young people about STEM and engineering.

Dr Pete Etchells

Dr Pete Etchells is a senior lecturer in biological psychology at Bath Spa University, and the science blog network coordinator for the Guardian, where he also writes for the psychology blog Head Quarters. He researches the effects of playing video games on mental health and behaviour, and more generally the effects of technology use on the brain and behaviour. You can follow Pete on Twitter: @peteetchells.

Pete’s subject this month was Dr Suzanne Gage, an epidemiologist who use the Children of the 90s dataset to investigate relationships between recreational drug use and mental health. She has a blog called Sifting the Evidence, which won the 2012 Science Blog prize.

Thanks to our sponsor

This podcast is brought to you thanks to the generous support of ARM, our exclusive semiconductor industry sponsor. You can learn more about ARM on their website at ARM.com and you can follow them on Twitter at @ARMHoldings.

If you would like to join ARM as a sponsor of the Ada Lovelace Day Podcast, please email us.

Get in touch!

If you’d like to send us feedback about the show, or if you’d like to take part, please email us. We’re especially interested in hear from men who would like to talk to us about the women in STEM who have influenced them, especially those women who are less well known.

Videos

Welcome to the Ada Lovelace Day podcast, highlighting the work of women in STEM. Each month, we talk to women from around the STEM world about their careers, as well as talking to women and men, about historic and modern women’s achievements, discoveries, and inventions.

In this episode

01:30: Senior spacecraft structures engineer Abbie Hutty talks about how Airbus’ ExoMars Rover Project will search for life on Mars, and the challenges of building a portable lab that can both do delicate science and withstand the rigours of the Red Planet.

Our interviewees

Abigail Hutty

Abbie Hutty is senior spacecraft structures engineer on Airbus’ ExoMars Rover Project. She gained her master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at Surrey University where she received several awards and prizes for her achievements, including for her master’s thesis on the use of composites in spacecraft structures. She joined Astrium at Stevenage, now Airbus Defence and Space, as a mechanical engineer in 2010, and now leads a team of specialists in the design of the ExoMars Rover Vehicle Structure. In 2013, she was selected as the IMechE’s Young Member of the Year and later named as the IET’s Young Woman Engineer of the Year. You can follow Abbie on Twitter, at @A_Hutty.

You can also find out more about how the ExoMars Rover will search for life on Mars in Abbie’s ALD 2015 talk, available on YouTube and Figshare, and at the bottom of this post.

Anne-Marie Imafidon

Anne-Marie Imafidon is Head STEMette and cofounder of STEMettes – an award-winning social enterprise inspiring the next generation of females into science, technology, engineering and mathematics roles via a series of events and opportunities. In three years more than 7,000 girls across the UK, Ireland and Europe have attended STEMette experiences. As part of the initiative Anne-Marie has also co-founded Outbox Incubator: the worlds first tech incubator for teenage girls. She sits on the boards of Redfield Asset Management, Urban Development Music Foundation and Inspirational YOU. You can find out more about Anne-Marie on her website and follow the @STEMettes on Twitter.

Thanks to our sponsor

This podcast is brought to you thanks to the generous support of ARM, our exclusive semiconductor industry sponsor. You can learn more about ARM on their website at ARM.com and you can follow them on Twitter at @ARMHoldings.

If you would like to join ARM as a sponsor of the Ada Lovelace Day Podcast, please email us.

Get in touch!

If you’d like to send us feedback about the show, or if you’d like to take part, please email us. We’re especially interested in hear from men who would like to talk to us about the women in STEM who have influenced them, especially those women who are less well known.

Videos

Welcome to the third episode Ada Lovelace Day podcast, highlighting the work of women in STEM. We’ll be talking to women from around the STEM world about their careers, as well as talking to women and men, about historic and modern women’s achievements, discoveries, and inventions.

In this episode

01:00: We talk to Hazel Gibson about geoscience cognition and communication — how the metaphors we use for geological concepts, like underground rivers, affect how well we understand geological processes.

26:33: And Dr Erik Klemetti, volcanologist and author of the Wired Eruptions blog, tells us about the work of vulcanologist Professor Anita Grunder.

Our interviewees

Hazel Gibson is a PhD research student at Plymouth University who works on geoscience cognition and communication; the study of what people think about geology and how they talk about it. With a background in engineering geology and public engagement, Hazel has worked all over the world sharing her curiosity for geological subjects wherever she goes. She blogs at My Patchwork Planet and for GeoLog and is also on Twitter, @iamhazelgibson.

Dr Erik Klemetti is a volcanologist and petrologist at Denison University, in Granville, Ohio. He uses radiometric dating and chemical analysis of zircon crystals to find out how magma composition changes over time. Looking at the processes that create volcanic and other rocks tells us about the dynamic events that have created the Earth and will change the planet far into the future. Erik has been fascinated by geology since he was young, either with the vast mineral collection that his grandmother in Massachusetts had collected or with the vistas of Nevado del Ruiz from his grandparents home in Colombia. He also write a blog about volcanos, Eruptions, for Wired. You can follow Erik on Twitter @eruptionsblog.

Thanks to our sponsor

This podcast is brought to you thanks to the generous support of ARM, our exclusive semiconductor industry sponsor. You can learn more about ARM on their website at ARM.com and you can follow them on Twitter at @ARMHoldings.

If you would like to join ARM as a sponsor of the Ada Lovelace Day Podcast, please email us.

Get in touch!

If you’d like to send us feedback about the show, or if you’d like to take part, please email us. We’re especially interested in hear from men who would like to talk to us about the women in STEM who have influenced them, especially those women who are less well known.

Video

Welcome to the second episode of the freshly minted Ada Lovelace Day podcast, highlighting the work of women in STEM. We’ll be talking to women from around the STEM world about their careers, as well as talking to women and men, about historic and modern women’s achievements, discoveries, and inventions.

In this episode

01:11: We talk to science communicator Fran Scott about her work designing science demos for television and schools, and how to get into a TV presenting career.

22:09: We also hear from Maia Weinstock, deputy editor at MIT news, who discusses the queen of nuclear research, Chien-Shiung Wu, her crucial role in disproving the Conservation of Parity and her vital contribution to the Manhattan Project.

Our interviewees

Fran Scott is the only female science presenter on Children’s BBC. A scientist by training and an engineer at heart, Fran uses her knowledge of these subjects to explain their principles in entertaining, exciting and accurate ways often using high-impact demonstrations to prove her point. She has presented six series for Children’s BBC, five series for BBC Learning Zone, and one for BBC Worldwide, and has received numerous recognitions including a Royal Television Society award and three BAFTA nominations. Web – Twitter

You can watch Fran setting rockets off with her finger during Ada Lovelace Day Live! 2013 either on YouTube or below:

Maia Weinstock is the deputy editor at MIT News and a writer specialising in science and children’s media. She has contributed to outlets including Scientific American, BrainPOP, Discover, SPACE.com, and NOVA’s Secret Life of Scientists and Engineers. Maia is a strong advocate for girls and women; most recently, she has been recognised for her science- and law-themed LEGO minifigure creations. She has also led efforts to increase the participation and visibility of women on Wikipedia. Web — Twitter

Thanks to our sponsor

This podcast is brought to you thanks to the generous support of ARM, our exclusive semiconductor industry sponsor. You can learn more about ARM on their website at ARM.com and you can follow them on Twitter at @ARMHoldings.

If you would like to join ARM as a sponsor of the Ada Lovelace Day Podcast, please email Suw Charman-Anderson.

Get in touch!

If you’d like to send us feedback about the show, or if you’d like to take part, please email us. We’re especially interested in hear from men who would like to talk to us about the women in STEM who have influenced them, especially those women who are less well known.

Welcome to the first ever episode of the brand spanking new Ada Lovelace Day podcast, highlighting the work of women in STEM. We’ll be talking to women from around the STEM world about their careers, as well as talking to women and men, about historic and modern women’s achievements, discoveries, and inventions.

Thanks to our sponsor

This podcast is brought to you thanks to the generous support of ARM, our exclusive semiconductor industry sponsor. You can learn more about ARM on their website at ARM.com and you can follow them on Twitter at @ARMHoldings.

Get in touch!

If you’d like to send us feedback about the show, or if you’d like to take part, please email us. We’re especially interested in hear from men who would like to talk to us about the women in STEM who have influenced them, especially those women who are less well known.

iTunes & Subscriptions

Unfortunately, a technical problem with our website is currently preventing us from adding our podcast to iTunes and other podcasting subscription service. We’re working on that, and hopefully we will have that problem solved by next month!

ALD 2009's Pledge

"I will publish a blog post on Tuesday 24th March about a woman in technology whom I admire but only if 1,000 other people will do the same."
— Suw Charman-Anderson

Tuesday 8 October 2019 is Ada Lovelace Day, an international day celebrating the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering and maths.

With thanks to our partners

Ada Lovelace Day is dependent on the generosity of its partners, volunteers and supporters for survival. If you would like to sponsor Ada Lovelace Day, please get in touch. We would like to thank the following organisations for their support of Ada Lovelace Day and women in STEM.